Jackson looks to settle with fired manager

JEFFERSON - Jackson County leaders plan to settle with fired county manager Crandall Jones, even though Jones hasn't filed a lawsuit or a discrimination complaint against the county.

Commissioners agreed to settle after Jones wrote a letter to the county demanding an unspecified amount in damages. A settlement likely avoids a costly lawsuit between the former county manager of nearly two years and the county.

County commissioners voted Feb. 19 to fire Jones, but never have given a reason why, except to say it's in the "best interest of the county."

Commissioners met in a closed-door session Monday night and emerged in agreement that they should settle the matter before Jones sues the county.

"It's not settled," County Attorney Julius Hulsey said following the vote. "We're trying to negotiate."

Two county commissioners and Commission Chairwoman Pat Bell voted to fire Jones three days after he sent out a memo detailing possible violations of the county charter.

The day he sent out the memo, Bell asked Jones to resign, but he refused, leading the commission to fire him.

In the wake of their decision, some community members alleged that commissioners had racist intentions when they fired Jones.

Bell, Commissioner Tom Crow and Commissioner Dwain Smith, the three commissioners who voted to fire Jones, tersely referred calls about the possible settlement to the county attorney.

Because Jones wrote a letter demanding damages, the county's insurance through the Association County Commissioners of Georgia could cover some of the settlement. However, county taxpayers would have to cover any difference.

Hulsey confirmed that Jones wrote a letter, but he did not immediately release a copy of the letter in response to an Athens Banner-Herald open-records request.

Jones could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Last July, a different incarnation of county commissioners voted 3-1 to give Jones six months of pay if he were fired, an amount that equals roughly $45,000. Only Bell, Crow and Commissioner Jody Thompson still serve on the county commission.

The three commissioners who voted last year to give Jones a severance package were the only ones to complete performance reviews of Jones, officials said at the time.

"I still stand today that Crandall was beneficial to Jackson County government and did not deserve to be acted upon in the manner that it happened," Thompson said in a Tuesday e-mail. "I have all the respect in the world for the other commissioners in making this decision; it wasn't easy for them, but it was right."